Apple warns the RAM crisis will have 'more of an impact' — what it means for iPhone and MacBook prices

The ongoing RAM crisis continues to rage on, and despite Apple's latest earnings call confirming a successful year for the company, there's no escaping the memory shortage — and CEO Tim Cook finally addresses its impact.

Apple has seen a year-over-year jump in net income, from $36 billion to $42 billion. This is due to a significant increase in iPhone and iPad sales, along with App Store, Apple Music and other services seeing a 14% growth in revenue. The release of the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro, as well as the latest iPad Pro M5, clearly played huge roles.

As expected, the global memory shortage, which kicked off towards the end of 2025, didn't affect Apple's earnings.

Previously, Counterpoint Research claimed the Cupertino tech giant would be one of the few companies best positioned to overcome the price hikes set by the RAM crisis, and this appears to have played out in the short term.

During the earnings call, Cook stated that skyrocketing memory prices had a "minimal impact" on Apple during the fourth quarter of 2025, although Mac and wearables did see a 6.7% and 2.2% decline, respectively. However, this could change once the RAM drought sets in, and Cook understands this.

Preparing for the RAM shortage

For the first quarter of this year, Cook expects "a bit more of an impact" when it comes to Apple's net income, and it's due to the price of RAM and SSDs continuing to rise. This is expected to continue to get worse down the line, as we've even heard that Costco is removing RAM from its display PCs to stop stores from being RAMsacked.

But Apple is aware of this, with Cook stating the company "will look at a range of options to deal with that." While the effects of the memory shortage may not be immediate for Apple, its RAM safety net may not last much longer.

According to analyst Jukan on X, MacBook and iPhone prices could rise in 2026, which means highly anticipated products like the M5 MacBook Air, iPhone 18 lineup and the revamped MacBook Pro M6 may see a price hike. This is due to the long-term agreements the Cupertino tech giant has in place "expiring" soon, with Samsung and SK Hynix "planning to raise memory prices for Apple" starting this January.

Now, Apple may have more room to play with, as Intel has stated laptop makers are sitting on 'about 9 to 12 months' of stock before costs start to increase. Plus, with Cook indicating that plans will be set in place, Apple may be one of the companies that absorbs the impact of the memory shortage.

But with 'more of an impact' expected, your next iPhone and MacBook purchase could be a pricier one.

A rise in costs?

Apple has a wave of rumored products tipped to arrive this year, from the iPhone Fold to the cheap MacBook with an A18 Pro chip. If the RAM crisis sets in for Apple, costs could jump in the wrong direction for buyers.

We're already seeing MacBook Pro models taking up to two months to ship, which could be a sign of memory/SSD shortages or preparation of anticipated MacBook Pro M5 Pro/Max laptops. And with the rumored changes coming to the MacBook Pro M6 with OLED, costs are already looking to be tough.

There's no telling if Apple will be able to deal with the struggles of RAMageddon, and how this will affect the price of upcoming products for consumers.

But with memory manufacturers like Samsung reportedly raising the contract price of its RAM by 100%, and Micron expecting the RAM crisis to last until 2028, we may want to brace ourselves for iPhone and MacBook costs to rise.

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